


Stay

by ready_to_kick_some_ass



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Fix-It, Love Confessions, M/M, Sherlock (TV) Season/Series 04 Fix-it, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-28 20:29:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13279308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ready_to_kick_some_ass/pseuds/ready_to_kick_some_ass
Summary: “I can’t do this anymore,” John says quietly. “I can’t do this anymore, Sherlock.”As if Rosie senses John’s distress, she stops crying and reaches out for John with her tiny hands. “Da,” she makes. “Da!”John smiles at her half-heartedly. Then he stands up with a sigh and takes her into his arms. “Shhh,” he makes soothingly.Sherlock watches everything and feels very confused.What does John mean?What is it that he can’t do anymore?





	Stay

Sherlock stares out the window and swallows.  
The weather isn’t just bad. It’s horrible.  
Heavy rain and violent gusts of wind press the trees down, while thunder is rolling in the distance.  
  
John, who has a sleeping Rosie in his arms, comes to stand beside Sherlock and laughs nervously. “Oh my. I’m glad I didn’t miss the bus. Otherwise I would have been right in the middle of this mess.”  
  
“Mmh.” Sherlock nervously scratches the back of his hand, and then crosses his arms in front of his chest.  
It’s late. It’s time for him to leave. He can sense it. John is back from his therapy session with Ella and he isn’t needed anymore.  
  
“Thanks for looking after Rosie today,” John says in that exact moment.  
_See? He’s trying to tell you that it’s time to leave._  
  
“You’re welcome John.” Sherlock turns around and goes to the hallway to fetch his coat.  
  
“Where are you going?” John asks behind him. It sounds … surprised.  
  
Sherlock stops and looks at John over his shoulder, frowning. “I’m leaving. Obviously. Goodbye, John.”  
  
John stares at him. He blinks. “You want to … Sherlock, it’s freezing outside. It’s raining and there’s a thunderstorm approaching. You can’t leave now.”  
  
“It’s okay, John. I’ll be fine.”  
  
“No. Absolutely not.” John shakes his head furiously. “You’re not going out there so you can catch yourself pneumonia.”  
  
Sherlock frowns in slight irritation. Why has John got to make everything so complicated?  
But he doesn’t want to make John angry or annoyed. So he nods in defeat.  
“All right, I’m waiting until the worst of the storm is over,” he says quietly.  
  
John swallows. Then he says softly, “You could just stay the night, you know. I have an empty room.”  
  
Sherlock fidgets nervously with his hands. “I don’t know. I have … There’s an experiment waiting for me in the flat, and …”  
  
“Sherlock,” John says quietly. “Stay.”  
  
And Sherlock does.  
He stays.  
  
~

Rosie starts screaming in the middle of the night.  
Sherlock can’t sleep anyway.  
He’s just lying in the strange bed, staring at the ceiling. Everything here is strange. Feels strange. _Smells_ strange.  
He wishes John could just come back. To Baker Street. Back home.  
  
_But no_ , he scolds himself and sighs. He shouldn’t be so selfish. This is John’s home now. Even if Mary is gone.  
  
Rosie doesn’t stop screaming.  
Sherlock frowns.  
Did John even wake up?  
Maybe … maybe he should make sure that everything’s all right up there.  
So he stands up, and walks up the stairs to John’s room.  
He enters after a short, careful knock, and stops when he sees John.  
  
John is sitting on his bed with his head in both hands.  
Rosie is crying. But John doesn’t do anything.  
  
“John,” Sherlock says nervously. “Rosie …”  
  
John finally moves. He slowly raises his head and looks at Sherlock.  
There are trails of tears on John’s face.   
  
Sherlock swallows.  
  
“I can’t do this anymore,” John says quietly. “I can’t do this anymore, Sherlock.”  
  
As if Rosie senses John’s distress, she stops crying and reaches out for John with her tiny hands. “Da,” she makes. “Da!”  
John smiles at her half-heartedly. Then he stands up with a sigh and takes her into his arms. “Shhh,” he makes soothingly.  
  
Sherlock watches everything and feels very confused.  
What does John mean?  
What is it that he can’t do anymore? Maybe he’s missing Mary. Yes. Of course. He’s mourning. That’s it.  
  
“I feel guilty,” John says suddenly, barely audible. “I feel guilty because … Because I should mourn more. Yeah. I really should. But … I can’t. All those lies. All those dark secrets.” He suddenly looks at Sherlock. His eyes are full of desperation. “She shot you. She almost killed you.”  
  
Sherlock looks aside. “She didn’t mean to …,” he murmurs.  
  
“Are you sure?” John asks.  
  
Sherlock doesn’t answer. He doesn’t _know_ the answer to that question.  
  
John chuckles darkly. “Sometimes, I feel like fate is mocking me, you know? First it takes you away from me. Then it gives me a woman who is lying to me about everything. I feel like a fool. But for god’s sake …,” he takes a deep breath. “I may be a fool. But I’m absolutely sure about one thing. About one damn thing.”  
  
One thing.  
Which thing?  
Sherlock waits for John to continue.  
  
John is silent for a moment and just looks at Rosie, who has closed her eyes.  
“I don’t like this house,” John finally says. “It’s too big and it’s … it’s full of memories I don’t want. I miss other memories.” He looks at Sherlock and swallows. “If I’m begging you … would you allow me to move back to Baker Street? With Rosie? I know. I have no right to …”  
  
“You don’t need to beg,” Sherlock says quickly. “You’re always welcome. You and Rosie. Please. I … Nothing would make me happier.”  
  
John makes a noise, that resembles a sob.

~

A few days later, after they have taken Rosie to bed and sit on the couch together, John kisses him for the first time.  
And there, in the familiar warmth of Baker Street, John tells Sherlock the thing he’s absolutely sure of.

“I love you.”

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Say hello on [Tumblr](http://currently-in-my-mind-palace.tumblr.com/) :)  
> Beta: [bakerstreet-irregular](http://bakerstreet-irregular.tumblr.com/)


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